1 00:00:01,440 --> 00:00:08,640 I am in India with a 1913 Bradshaw's Handbook to Indian Colonial and Foreign Travel. 2 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:14,240 Published at the height of the British Raj, 3 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:19,440 my 100-year-old guidebook will lead me on a spectacular railway adventure 4 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:25,200 through a land of majestic mountains and holy rivers where magnificent 5 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:29,040 beasts roam, and epic stories are told. 6 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:33,600 I'll encounter maharajahs, explore ornate palaces, 7 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:37,120 witness the technology of modern India, 8 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:40,640 and ride some of the most exhilarating trains in the world. 9 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:47,320 I'll discover how imperial railways and the English language inadvertently 10 00:00:47,480 --> 00:00:53,400 spread ideas of independence among hundreds of millions of Indians 11 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:57,080 who today live in the largest democracy in the world. 12 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:27,480 The extensive empire, says Bradshaw's, 13 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:31,320 25 times the size of England and Wales, 14 00:01:31,320 --> 00:01:34,400 situated between the mountains of Afghanistan, 15 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:39,600 Kashmir and Tibet to the north, the Bay of Bengal and Siam to the east, 16 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:45,520 the Indian Ocean on the south, and the Arabian Sea and Persia on the west. 17 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:51,560 Extraordinarily, this vast area, with its tens of millions of people, 18 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:54,800 was governed by a private enterprise 19 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:57,720 which also ran an opium monopoly, 20 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:04,440 the East India Company, until the bloodthirsty Indian Rebellion of 1857. 21 00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:09,160 Then, at last, the British Government grew exasperated with the greed 22 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:14,240 and mismanagement of the company, and absorbed India into the British Empire. 23 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:17,480 My journey will take me past the poppy fields, 24 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:19,280 along the Ganges River, 25 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:22,560 towards the seeds of independence in Bengal. 26 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:37,360 I begin in the state of Uttar Pradesh at its historical capital Lucknow, 27 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:41,920 famously besieged during the rebellion against British rule. 28 00:02:41,920 --> 00:02:44,560 From there, I will head east to Ghazipur, 29 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:48,680 once the centre of the opium industry, and through the flat, 30 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:54,200 fertile state of Bihar, to the great Buddhist temple at Bodh Gaya. 31 00:02:54,320 --> 00:02:56,400 I'll cross into West Bengal, 32 00:02:56,400 --> 00:03:00,400 and gain traction in a railway plant in Chittaranjan, 33 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:04,640 before finishing in Kolkata, former seat of the British Raj. 34 00:03:06,920 --> 00:03:10,320 Along the way, I'll learn about 19th-century drug dealing... 35 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:15,880 The amount of opium almost made it impossible for people to not be addicts. 36 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:19,280 ..explore an enormous locomotive factory... 37 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:23,200 You could run a perfectly decent horse race in here. 38 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:27,120 ..discover how British cotton led to conflict... 39 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:31,240 They were flooding the markets and making us lose our hand loom industry... 40 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:33,280 ..and get a lesson in meditation. 41 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:36,680 Focus all your mind... 42 00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:40,000 ..on the tip of your nose. 43 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:57,240 My first stop will be Lucknow which Bradshaw's tells me is the old capital of Awadh, 44 00:03:57,400 --> 00:04:02,160 a picturesque collection of domes, pillars and spires. 45 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:09,840 Here, a succession of nawabs and kings reigned from 1716 until the deposition of the last king 46 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:14,280 in 1856, followed by the Sepoy Revolt. 47 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:17,240 A monarch deposed by a private company! 48 00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:19,560 Little wonder that bloodshed followed. 49 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:23,240 Bradshaw travellers would have heard of Lucknow, 50 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:26,920 scene of exceptional British military valour. 51 00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:30,560 But whether they understood the causes and the consequences of the 52 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:32,560 rebellion is more doubtful. 53 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:59,480 Lucknow is known to have one of India's loveliest stations 54 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:02,120 built just after my Bradshaw's Guide. 55 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:11,000 This is the capital of Uttar Pradesh. 56 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:15,800 The city's impressive monuments are unmistakably Islamic, 57 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:20,640 dating back to the Mughal rule of the nawabs and is now the centre of 58 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:22,760 India's Shia Muslim community. 59 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:28,720 Wide boulevards and manicured gardens sit alongside teeming narrow 60 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:30,480 backstreets. 61 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:34,400 The bazaar is one of the oldest and most popular places to shop. 62 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:41,520 The colours in India are beautiful. 63 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:43,880 Overwhelming, particularly in the markets. 64 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:47,880 The clothes, the shoes, the fruit, the spices, 65 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:51,560 it makes me feel really understated in my attire. 66 00:05:53,840 --> 00:05:58,960 This city is famous for its cuisine, and kebabs are a speciality. 67 00:05:59,080 --> 00:06:00,960 Hello. 68 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:02,840 Oh, it's hot. 69 00:06:02,840 --> 00:06:05,240 Can I try it, please? 70 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:08,160 The story goes that an old nawab who'd lost his teeth, 71 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:11,480 set a competition to see who could make the softest kebabs, 72 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:14,320 and it was made by a man who had one hand, 73 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:17,960 and one-handed in the local language is tunday. 74 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:21,760 So a man who had lost a hand made a kebab for a man who'd lost his teeth. 75 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:24,840 Thank you very much. 76 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:28,080 Served on a leaf. 77 00:06:30,280 --> 00:06:31,320 Wow. 78 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:34,360 Mm, it's good. 79 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:36,960 Thank you. 80 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:38,720 Spicy, too. Very spicy. 81 00:06:41,040 --> 00:06:45,640 Today, Lucknow is a peaceful city of around three million people. 82 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:52,200 Hello. But in 1857, a full-scale uprising spread across northern India. 83 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:55,600 These streets fell into the hands of rebel sepoys, 84 00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:59,120 Indian troops recruited by the East India Company, 85 00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:03,560 angry at religious insensitivity displayed by British officers. 86 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:08,280 The city's residency was the headquarters of the British Commissioner for 87 00:07:08,280 --> 00:07:10,960 the territory, Sir Henry Lawrence, 88 00:07:10,960 --> 00:07:14,520 and became the site of a bloody five-month siege. 89 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:19,560 The noble defence of Lucknow, says Bradshaw's, 90 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:22,480 is one of the most glorious episodes. 91 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:27,320 The Lucknow residency will always remain a sacred memorial of English 92 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:29,960 valour and self-sacrifice. 93 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:34,960 These ruined walls speak of the horrors endured by and the heroism 94 00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:37,160 displayed by the British. 95 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:42,320 It's as though the whiff of gun smoke was still in the air and, 96 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:47,400 not mentioned by Bradshaw, the stench of British atrocities too. 97 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:54,760 In the preserved ruins of the residency, 98 00:07:54,760 --> 00:08:01,000 I have arranged to meet history professor Saleem Kidwai. 99 00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:05,360 Professor, why is there a rebellion in the kingdom of Awadh in 1857? 100 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:08,840 Um, because there was a rebellion all over north India. 101 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:12,720 Sepoys had already mutinied in Meerut, they had taken Delhi. 102 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:17,680 In Awadh, there was particularly good reason because Awadh had a very 103 00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:20,320 harsh history at the hands of the East India Company. 104 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:26,200 When the kingdom was annexed in 1856, without any legitimate cause, 105 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:31,120 they decided to remove the king in conditions that were extremely 106 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:34,280 humiliating. The city's pride was hurt. 107 00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:35,920 And it led to violence. 108 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:37,520 It led to violence. 109 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:46,040 When this famous siege of Lucknow begins, who is in the residency? 110 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:48,400 It is the British residents of Lucknow. 111 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:53,040 It's people from close by who've come here for refuge or safety. 112 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:58,000 Their sons, loyal Indian soldiers, there are schoolboys and missionaries, 113 00:08:58,000 --> 00:08:59,760 and of course their families. 114 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:02,800 And what sort of defence can they mount from these buildings? 115 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:07,600 It was all makeshift defence because this wasn't meant to be a defensive 116 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:11,680 structure. What was it like in here on a daily basis during those five 117 00:09:11,680 --> 00:09:15,840 months? It was constant bombardment, constant skirmishes. 118 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:18,080 There was no full-scale assault. 119 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:20,840 The rebels weren't prepared for it, they did not have a commander, 120 00:09:20,840 --> 00:09:22,280 they did not have a plan. 121 00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:25,840 What they did was to constantly fire from every direction into the 122 00:09:25,840 --> 00:09:28,600 residency. And the signs of this are on the walls all around us. 123 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:31,480 Absolutely, yes. 124 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:33,320 Three months into the siege, 125 00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:37,640 the first attempt by British forces under General Sir Henry Havelock 126 00:09:37,640 --> 00:09:40,280 to free their fellow countrymen inside, failed. 127 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:46,960 The siege continued for another two months before a much larger force 128 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:50,680 under Sir Colin Campbell managed to evacuate the survivors. 129 00:09:52,440 --> 00:09:55,160 This was an action of great heroism. 130 00:09:55,160 --> 00:09:59,400 And was recognised as such by the awarding of Victoria Crosses, 131 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:04,000 the record for the largest number of Victoria Crosses, 18 in one day, 132 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:07,240 28 in one action, um, 133 00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:10,960 just shows you how seriously the British Government took the defence 134 00:10:10,960 --> 00:10:14,760 of the siege of Lucknow and how heroic they considered it. 135 00:10:16,520 --> 00:10:20,200 What were the casualties? Large, unfortunately very large. 136 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:25,040 Of the 3,000 people in here, 900 men, women, 137 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:27,720 children and schoolboys survived. 138 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:29,960 And many of them were in very poor shape. 139 00:10:31,560 --> 00:10:35,080 With survivors rescued from the residency, 140 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:38,320 the British left Lucknow in rebel hands. 141 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:43,760 But Campbell and his forces returned in March 1858 to take back the city 142 00:10:43,880 --> 00:10:45,720 and to punish the rebels. 143 00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:49,840 When the British retook Lucknow, what are the consequences for the city? 144 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:54,720 Horrendous. Um, the British were outraged. 145 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:59,760 There were extremely exaggerated stories about the rape and molestation of British women. 146 00:10:59,920 --> 00:11:03,040 So, the British tied rebels to cannons and blew them up. 147 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:09,400 They identified as many as they could find, and hung them publicly. 148 00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:14,040 They identified not just the rebels but anyone who had helped the rebels, 149 00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:17,920 confiscated their lands, they mistreated places of religion. 150 00:11:17,920 --> 00:11:21,560 So, at all levels, there was vengeance. 151 00:11:21,560 --> 00:11:25,240 What were the consequences for India, of the rebellion of 1857? 152 00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:27,360 India became a full-scale colony. 153 00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:32,160 1857 clearly showed that the Indian possessions were too valuable to be 154 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:33,680 left to the East India Company, 155 00:11:33,680 --> 00:11:38,480 to the misrule of the board of directors who were not controlled by politicians. 156 00:11:38,480 --> 00:11:40,440 So Queen Victoria had to step in. 157 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:51,880 Vestiges of the rich culture and traditions of this part of India 158 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:55,680 are in evidence all around me. 159 00:11:55,680 --> 00:12:00,680 The ornate Qaisar Bagh Palace was built in 1850 by Wajid Ali Shah, 160 00:12:00,680 --> 00:12:03,560 the last nawab of Awadh. 161 00:12:03,560 --> 00:12:09,280 A much-loved ruler, he was a poet and a great patron of the arts. 162 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:14,400 I'd like to know more about the cultural legacy of these royal nawabs 163 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:17,240 whose deposition caused such a furore. 164 00:12:19,840 --> 00:12:24,640 In the palace grounds at the prestigious Bhatkhande Music Institute, 165 00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:29,600 they teach an ancient form of dance that was popular at royal occasions. 166 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:34,080 Hello, Dr Khare. 167 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:36,800 Dr Ruchi Khare is an assistant professor here. 168 00:12:36,800 --> 00:12:40,720 Dr Khare, what is the dance that you perform and teach here? 169 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:42,560 I perform kathak dance. 170 00:12:42,560 --> 00:12:47,280 Kathak dance is a very popular classical dance style of northern India. 171 00:12:47,280 --> 00:12:49,360 Kathak is all about storytelling. 172 00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:52,560 What is the connection between kathak and the royal nawabs? 173 00:12:52,560 --> 00:12:55,840 The nawabs of the 19th century were very culture-loving people. 174 00:12:55,840 --> 00:12:58,480 They sat on the throne of Lucknow. 175 00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:01,400 They promoted this art in their regime, 176 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:06,400 and they invited all the talented kathak artists from nearby towns and 177 00:13:06,560 --> 00:13:08,880 places, and they kept them in their court. 178 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:11,440 Did the nawabs participate in the dance? 179 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:16,440 Yes. Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, he was himself a kathak artist. 180 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:19,160 He had trained under a dancer in this court. 181 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:22,840 Was kathak for the aristocracy, or was it a popular thing? 182 00:13:22,840 --> 00:13:26,880 It started from the elite because the king himself promoted it. 183 00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:29,640 But then, since it was very, very entertaining, 184 00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:32,000 it became very popular among the masses. 185 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:34,000 And the people you teach now, the students, 186 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:36,280 will they go on to be kathak performers? 187 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:39,000 They want to pursue it as a career. 188 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:40,280 There are different avenues. 189 00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:44,280 It can be teaching choreography, stage performer, 190 00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:48,200 but the important thing is that they are very passionate about dancing. 191 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:57,160 I am not known for my sense of rhythm but Dr Khare has bravely offered to teach me a few steps. 192 00:14:20,440 --> 00:14:22,040 This side, this side. This side. 193 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:25,200 Turn from the side. Ah, this side. 194 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:28,720 I could see why professionals train for years. 195 00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:50,400 I am bidding farewell to Lucknow and continuing my journey east to Ghazipur. 196 00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:55,520 PA: For the kind information of passengers, train number... 197 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:08,480 Bradshaw's says that night travelling saves time, 198 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:12,720 and is to be recommended especially during the summer months. 199 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:16,040 With the mercury bursting the thermometer, 200 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:19,400 I'm guessing that sleeper travel is the better option. 201 00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:40,640 In truth, most people on these sleepers go to bed in their day clothes, 202 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:43,120 but I believe in maintaining standards. 203 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:46,560 Good evening. Good evening. Do you speak English? 204 00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:48,640 Yes. I'm going to Ghazipur. 205 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:50,640 Where are you going? I'm going to Varanasi. 206 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:53,160 Varanasi, famous city on the Ganges. 207 00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:56,640 Very lovely. Well, I've got the top bunk, I hope I don't disturb you. 208 00:15:56,640 --> 00:15:59,400 Have a nice sleep. Thank you. Goodnight to you. 209 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:12,120 Ever helpfully, my Bradshaw's tells me first and second class passengers 210 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:15,480 will not be disturbed for tickets at night. 211 00:16:15,480 --> 00:16:22,720 Small packages and valuables should be carefully disposed of at night out of reach of an open window. 212 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:25,360 Bradshaw's is my one valuable item, 213 00:16:25,360 --> 00:16:30,360 that can go under my pillow and no-one will find it. 214 00:16:57,360 --> 00:17:02,400 The train swayed quite a lot so I was not so much rocked to sleep as 215 00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:07,280 shaken awake. But it was air-conditioned and I do start a bright new day 216 00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:08,880 where I want to be. 217 00:17:10,080 --> 00:17:14,920 As I slept, we travelled around 200 miles across the plains of 218 00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:17,680 Uttar Pradesh to the state's far eastern border. 219 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:22,800 My next stop will be Ghazipur which the guidebook tells me lies in a 220 00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:26,520 picturesque tract in the valley of the Ganges. 221 00:17:26,520 --> 00:17:31,120 Opium, sugar, indigo and tobacco are raised. 222 00:17:31,120 --> 00:17:35,200 In that little word, opium, casually tossed into the sentence, 223 00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:37,840 lies unimaginable wealth, 224 00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:41,520 indescribable human degradation, and not one, 225 00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:45,360 but two wars between Britain and China. 226 00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:56,440 When you first arrive in Ghazipur, 227 00:17:56,440 --> 00:17:58,760 there really is only one place to head. 228 00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:29,040 First glimpse of the famous Ganges River, as Bradshaw's says, 229 00:18:29,040 --> 00:18:32,160 the sacred Ganga, 1,500 miles long, 230 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:36,480 which rises in two heads on the south side of the Himalayas. 231 00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:40,240 I am moved to see it so tranquil and majestic. 232 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:43,680 And by the fact that, for Hindus, it is a goddess, 233 00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:46,200 the embodiment of all holy waters. 234 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:48,440 And all along its banks, 235 00:18:48,440 --> 00:18:53,560 the devout enter the river to cup the deified liquid in their hands, 236 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:57,520 and to give thanks to their ancestors and to the gods. 237 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:07,520 But this river also played an essential role in a business that was anything but holy. 238 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:10,440 Hi. How lovely to see you. 239 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:14,680 Utacha Chatterpajaya is an expert on the opium trade. 240 00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:19,840 How does it come to be that opium production becomes so prolific 241 00:19:19,840 --> 00:19:21,520 along the banks of the Ganges? 242 00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:23,960 You need the heat for the opium to dry, 243 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:28,280 and soil fertility along the banks of the Ganges is great for growing opium. 244 00:19:28,280 --> 00:19:33,040 How does the opium trade from India to China get going under the 245 00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:39,360 East India Company? Opium was being farmed in India before the British get here, under the Mughal state. 246 00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:43,280 But, at that time, it's a smaller amount of produce. 247 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:46,840 But what the East India Company really does is concentrate the market. 248 00:19:46,840 --> 00:19:48,840 They join all the dots along the river, 249 00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:51,720 get people to grow opium next to each other, 250 00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:56,520 and they connect the production side of the market all the way to private 251 00:19:56,520 --> 00:19:59,840 traders who are buying opium in the docks in Calcutta, 252 00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:02,840 who then go on to sell it in ports in China. 253 00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:05,640 It's the application of the Industrial Revolution or of capitalism, 254 00:20:05,640 --> 00:20:08,360 to opium, really. It's exactly what it is, yes. 255 00:20:08,360 --> 00:20:11,440 And so the opium left the fields around here, 256 00:20:11,440 --> 00:20:13,240 left the factories around here, 257 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:17,880 and the Ganges River was the conduit by which the opium left for China. 258 00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:22,080 The Ganges is exactly the reason why the East India Company is able to 259 00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:24,360 connect all the little markets along the way. 260 00:20:24,360 --> 00:20:27,000 And they really became very wealthy on this, didn't they? 261 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:31,960 Absolutely. The opium trade expands through the 19th century into the 262 00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:34,280 early 20th, and in terms of revenue, 263 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:38,760 if you add all the opium markets that were existent in India, 264 00:20:38,760 --> 00:20:42,400 that's about 17% of the total money being made in India at the time. 265 00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:45,960 What do you think was the impact on the Chinese people of all this opium? 266 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:50,000 Politically, I think it was a huge problem for the Chinese. 267 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:52,800 Addiction was badly affecting workers. 268 00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:56,480 The amount of opium that was pumped into China almost made it impossible 269 00:20:56,480 --> 00:20:58,400 for people to not be addicts. 270 00:20:58,400 --> 00:21:00,920 China tried to exclude opium, 271 00:21:00,920 --> 00:21:06,680 but Britain was willing to go to war to keep open its lucrative trade. 272 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:10,600 Why did Britain and China fight two so-called Opium Wars? 273 00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:12,680 For the control in the Chinese market. 274 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:17,520 China was producing goods which the British wanted to buy. 275 00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:23,720 Primarily tea. Opium became one way of crashing into the Chinese economy. 276 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:29,160 They used gunboats in Hong Kong to humiliate the Chinese army in the first 277 00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:31,080 Opium War, and then the second. 278 00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:35,720 And the treaties that were signed following the ceasefires almost gave 279 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:39,440 the British complete control on ports in the interior trade in China. 280 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:43,320 So, the trade was that British people drank tea out of porcelain, 281 00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:44,960 while the Chinese smoked opium. 282 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:47,520 Absolutely, yes, I wouldn't have said it better. 283 00:21:50,480 --> 00:21:53,640 Just a few minutes walk from the Ganges in Ghazipur, 284 00:21:53,640 --> 00:21:58,000 this opium factory was opened by the East India Company in 1820. 285 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:02,800 Dry opium was brought here from the surrounding fields, 286 00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:06,760 and to another factory in Patna about 100 miles east. 287 00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:09,600 It was turned into cakes, and packed into crates, 288 00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:11,280 to be transported upriver. 289 00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:16,920 Following pressure from a Quaker led movement in Britain, in 1906, 290 00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:20,840 Parliament declared the trade morally indefensible, 291 00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:22,760 and around ten years later, it ended. 292 00:22:24,320 --> 00:22:28,720 From then, opium was processed only for medicinal and scientific purposes. 293 00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:34,680 Today, the opium and alkaloid works covering 43 acres, 294 00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:38,520 is a vast enterprise employing 900 people. 295 00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:39,960 Hi. What a pleasure to meet you. 296 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:43,840 You are welcome to Ghazipur factory, opium factory. 297 00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:46,560 Mr K Valson is the works manager. 298 00:22:48,480 --> 00:22:51,360 It feels like we're surrounded by historic buildings. 299 00:22:51,360 --> 00:22:53,840 These are the components of an opium factory, are they? 300 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:57,240 Yeah. You can see we have a very nice water tank. 301 00:22:57,240 --> 00:22:59,440 This was built in 1906. 302 00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:03,840 And then the one that you see on this side is the well. 303 00:23:04,880 --> 00:23:08,440 Still if you go near it, you'll find a lot of water gushing in. 304 00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:10,560 It is basically Ganga water. 305 00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:12,280 From the Ganges. From the Ganges. 306 00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:16,400 We need water for the process, for cleaning, washing, mixing, 307 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:20,760 modulating. Now, I saw on your sign, Government opium factory. 308 00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:24,960 So, it's owned by the Government, is it? Opium is a restricted item. 309 00:23:24,960 --> 00:23:28,880 Only the Government of India, through our Ministry of Finance, 310 00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:30,360 can operate. 311 00:23:30,360 --> 00:23:34,920 It can buy, it can sell, it can manufacture, it can import, it can export. 312 00:23:34,920 --> 00:23:38,920 When I arrived, I came through very solid gates, there were armed guards. 313 00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:41,000 Yes. You have to be very careful of this stuff. 314 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:43,120 It would have a huge value on the illicit market. 315 00:23:43,120 --> 00:23:44,520 Yes, very valuable. 316 00:23:44,520 --> 00:23:46,960 We ensure that nothing goes out of this place. 317 00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:50,560 Now, I don't think you're going to let me inside the manufacturing 318 00:23:50,560 --> 00:23:53,800 process. Obviously not, for security reasons, 319 00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:55,840 I'm not permitted to allow you to go inside. 320 00:23:55,840 --> 00:23:57,760 But tell me what goes on in there. 321 00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:01,160 Earlier, it was fully manual, but it is highly mechanised now. 322 00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:04,000 We have legally licensed farmers. 323 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:06,520 They will cultivate opium. They hand it over to us. 324 00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:10,120 We seal it in the presence of representatives, and we bring it here. 325 00:24:10,120 --> 00:24:12,400 We wash it with water, we dry it, 326 00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:16,440 then concentrate it for the manufacturing of opium alkaloids. 327 00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:19,000 And what is the opium used for these days? 328 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:23,120 Basically, we prepare only codeine phosphate which is used as a cough 329 00:24:23,120 --> 00:24:27,640 syrup. In 1943, they started an alkaloid plant also. 330 00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:31,080 They are manufacturing now morphine, codeine is there. 331 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:34,320 So, you're making an important contribution to modern medicine here. 332 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:37,680 Yes, obviously, because there is no alternate to this. 333 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:42,080 An alternative, even if it is there, it is very highly costly also. 334 00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:45,080 I didn't think I'd be saying this, but congratulations to you, sir, 335 00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:48,120 on managing an opium factory. Yeah, thank you, sir. 336 00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:10,240 Today, I am picking up my journey at Mughal Sarai Junction 337 00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:13,000 but there's a snag. 338 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:15,960 One of the hazards of travelling by train in India, let it be said, 339 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:20,040 is that they do run late, and I mean very late. 340 00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:22,840 The column on the right-hand side shows you the delays that are 341 00:25:22,840 --> 00:25:27,360 anticipated. There's one delayed by six hours and 30 minutes. 342 00:25:27,360 --> 00:25:31,840 And by the way, these tend to be optimistic estimates. 343 00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:33,880 I mean, it is perfectly understandable. 344 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:37,560 The trains wend thousands of kilometres across the subcontinent. 345 00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:40,160 But it does make planning very difficult. 346 00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:50,720 At least there are useful ways to pass the time while you wait. 347 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:54,160 The competition between open-air barbers is fierce. 348 00:25:54,160 --> 00:25:55,680 It's a cut-throat business! 349 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:11,360 In my experience, mobile phone coverage in India is pretty good, 350 00:26:11,360 --> 00:26:13,640 and Wi-Fi is readily available. 351 00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:19,600 And here at stations they have sockets so that you can charge up your equipment. 352 00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:23,440 Plug in with a round two-pin adapter, 353 00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:26,280 connect, switch on... 354 00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:27,800 PING! 355 00:26:27,800 --> 00:26:29,480 Ah, the ping. 356 00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:35,200 With my train showing no signs of arriving, 357 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:37,240 I'll seek out some extra reading material. 358 00:26:38,560 --> 00:26:40,800 AH Wheeler, book stall and newsagent, 359 00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:46,160 a feature of most Indian railway stations, founded in 1877. 360 00:26:46,280 --> 00:26:47,680 In the 1880s, 361 00:26:47,680 --> 00:26:51,880 a young Rudyard Kipling who needed to pay his passage back to England 362 00:26:51,880 --> 00:26:56,000 approached Wheeler's proposing that they publish cheap throwaway reading 363 00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:58,200 material for railway passengers. 364 00:26:58,200 --> 00:27:00,800 Published as the Indian Railway Library, 365 00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:03,440 it featured Kipling's short stories. 366 00:27:03,440 --> 00:27:08,040 It made him his money, and more importantly, it made his name. 367 00:27:09,920 --> 00:27:13,520 A beautiful display of books and magazines. 368 00:27:13,520 --> 00:27:14,520 Hello, sir. 369 00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:17,680 What's that thing there? 370 00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:19,640 The Indian Railway Timetable. 371 00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:21,440 The Indian timetable. Wow. 372 00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:24,240 How much is that? 60 rupees. 373 00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:26,280 60 rupees, I'll take that. 374 00:27:27,440 --> 00:27:28,440 Thank you. 375 00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:32,760 That's very kind of you, thank you, have a good day. 376 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:35,760 Beautifully illustrated. 377 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:37,680 The Indian Railway Timetable. 378 00:27:37,680 --> 00:27:41,240 Like a Kipling short story, it should be taken with a pinch of salt! 379 00:27:43,480 --> 00:27:47,400 Finally, four hours after it was due, my train arrives. 380 00:28:02,520 --> 00:28:02,600 This is the Grand Chord line, 381 00:28:02,600 --> 00:28:05,560 This is the Grand Chord line, 382 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:08,280 one of two parts of the main Delhi to Kolkata route. 383 00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:15,280 Trains on the first line opened by the East Indian Railway in 1866, 384 00:28:15,440 --> 00:28:19,560 stopped more frequently, in order to maximise revenue. 385 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:23,120 As that line became busier, a faster route was needed, 386 00:28:23,120 --> 00:28:26,000 and this one cut the journey by 50 miles. 387 00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:32,760 Rama Rao Annavarapu worked on the Grand Chord line for 34 years. 388 00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:37,680 Rama Rao, I'm Michael. Oh, nice meeting you. 389 00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:38,960 How do you do? 390 00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:44,280 My Bradshaw's tells me that the Grand Chord line was constructed in 391 00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:49,160 1907. Why was it so important to construct a more direct line between 392 00:28:49,160 --> 00:28:52,240 Kolkata and Delhi? As the traffic went up, 393 00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:57,280 they found it was becoming more and more expensive to pass this traffic 394 00:28:57,400 --> 00:28:59,000 over the longer route. 395 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:01,840 And, more importantly, they discovered coal. 396 00:29:01,840 --> 00:29:04,720 And all this coal had to be transported to Delhi. 397 00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:10,040 So, the stimulus for the Grand Chord line was actually freight rather than passenger. Very, very much. 398 00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:12,920 Freight was given much more importance in the Grand Chord. 399 00:29:12,920 --> 00:29:16,960 It's only later that we started running more and more passenger trains. 400 00:29:16,960 --> 00:29:19,040 Were you from a railway family? 401 00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:20,840 My father, he was station master. 402 00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:23,520 And how did you find your career in the railways? 403 00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:24,880 Wonderful. Yes. 404 00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:27,560 I would say. The work is very satisfying. 405 00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:31,520 I was in operations, and operations always give you challenges. 406 00:29:31,520 --> 00:29:35,360 And living conditions are good. We have lived in various places. 407 00:29:35,360 --> 00:29:38,480 I had occasion to see the whole country, 408 00:29:38,480 --> 00:29:41,200 even my children have grown up and seen down my seen so many places. 409 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:46,720 And you railway men and women, are you a family, a brotherhood? 410 00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:50,040 I don't think there's any brotherhood that is closer than the railways. 411 00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:54,240 Really? Yes. We find wherever you are, 412 00:29:54,240 --> 00:29:56,800 the railway men always come to your help. 413 00:30:15,080 --> 00:30:17,520 My next stop will be Bodh Gaya. 414 00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:22,560 The book tells me the town is celebrated as the cradle of Buddhism 415 00:30:22,560 --> 00:30:22,640 of which religion the great temple at Bodh Gaya, 416 00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:25,640 of which religion the great temple at Bodh Gaya, 417 00:30:25,640 --> 00:30:30,640 seven miles from the railway station, is now one of the chief remnants. 418 00:30:30,840 --> 00:30:37,600 By the side of the Mahabodhi, grew the Bodhi tree under which Gautama, 419 00:30:37,760 --> 00:30:42,040 Prince Siddhartha attained the title of the Buddha. 420 00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:45,960 I confess I don't understand every word of that but I shall go to the 421 00:30:45,960 --> 00:30:48,120 temple to seek enlightenment. 422 00:30:57,960 --> 00:31:03,840 Bodh Gaya is the holiest pilgrimage site for the world's half a billion Buddhists. 423 00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:14,160 A temple was first built here in the third century BC by the Indian 424 00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:16,640 emperor Asoka. 425 00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:21,040 This stunning Mahabodhi Temple is around 1,500 years old. 426 00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:34,840 I'm greeted by the chief monk. 427 00:31:34,840 --> 00:31:38,040 Welcome to Mahabodhi temple. Thank you so much. 428 00:31:40,680 --> 00:31:46,800 And my guide will be the Venerable Deepam Chartree who looks after visitors from all over theworld. 429 00:31:49,960 --> 00:31:52,960 The temple is absolutely wonderful. 430 00:31:52,960 --> 00:31:57,400 Who was the Buddha? Buddha was a prince who was born in Nepal. 431 00:31:57,400 --> 00:32:02,840 He travelled across from Nepal to Bodh Gaya and he spent almost six years in 432 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:07,040 this very place crossing his legs in a meditation posture. 433 00:32:07,040 --> 00:32:11,040 To find out the ultimate truth of suffering or the ultimate... 434 00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:15,560 ..things of human life. 435 00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:17,680 How did he do that, what was his method? 436 00:32:17,680 --> 00:32:22,400 Meditation was the first and very important method and meanwhile, 437 00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:25,160 he sacrificed so many things. 438 00:32:25,160 --> 00:32:26,520 Self-denial? Yes. 439 00:32:26,520 --> 00:32:29,080 Fasting was the biggest sacrifice. 440 00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:33,240 And what is the importance of the Bodhi tree? 441 00:32:33,240 --> 00:32:38,520 The Bodhi tree that you can see here is almost fourth-generation Bodhi tree. 442 00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:43,360 The Buddha seated beneath the tree and achieved enlightenment, 443 00:32:43,360 --> 00:32:47,360 the ultimate happiness that every people deserve. 444 00:32:47,360 --> 00:32:49,360 How long have you been a monk? 445 00:32:49,360 --> 00:32:53,120 13 years. What is your daily life as a monk? 446 00:32:53,120 --> 00:32:58,160 I have one routine that I have to follow from morning four o'clock until 447 00:32:58,320 --> 00:33:02,440 ten o'clock evening, just to take care of the temple, the people, 448 00:33:02,440 --> 00:33:04,280 those who come here to worship. 449 00:33:04,280 --> 00:33:08,080 I have morning meditation where I can concentrate my mind. 450 00:33:08,080 --> 00:33:09,880 Each day, one hour a day. 451 00:33:09,880 --> 00:33:12,240 But whatever I do, 452 00:33:12,240 --> 00:33:14,840 I am very much a peaceful minded person. 453 00:33:19,320 --> 00:33:24,960 Beside the sacred Bodhi tree Venerable Deepam has agreed to teach me the basics 454 00:33:25,080 --> 00:33:26,640 of meditation. 455 00:33:37,920 --> 00:33:39,440 One more. 456 00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:51,600 I find it very hard to sit cross-legged. 457 00:33:51,600 --> 00:33:55,600 I used to do it as a child, I've lost the ability. 458 00:33:55,600 --> 00:33:59,000 All Buddhists have to be able to do it, don't they? Yeah. 459 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:03,120 If you are sitting in this posture you can focus the feeling between 460 00:34:03,120 --> 00:34:04,560 your land and body. 461 00:34:04,560 --> 00:34:07,200 How do you begin to concentrate, to meditate? 462 00:34:07,200 --> 00:34:12,160 What do you do? A good teacher from Myanmar, from Burma, 463 00:34:12,160 --> 00:34:17,240 taught me a very simplest process of concentrating mind. 464 00:34:17,360 --> 00:34:20,840 And I really practice every day. 465 00:34:22,240 --> 00:34:28,240 When I shut my eyes I firstly, I find, I try to relax my whole body. 466 00:34:28,360 --> 00:34:30,280 I try to stop thinking. 467 00:34:31,960 --> 00:34:37,040 If you focus all your mind on tip of your nose 468 00:34:37,040 --> 00:34:42,640 and observe the flow of air inside and outside, 469 00:34:42,760 --> 00:34:47,240 breathing in and out very slowly, 470 00:34:47,240 --> 00:34:49,760 full concentration. 471 00:34:49,760 --> 00:34:52,440 That is called Vipassana meditation. 472 00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:04,320 I enjoyed that. And actually, it's quite noisy here but even so, 473 00:35:04,480 --> 00:35:08,680 I found I was going inside myself, concentrating on the tip of my nose, 474 00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:10,640 even though I couldn't see it. 475 00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:15,240 CHANTING 476 00:35:23,240 --> 00:35:26,680 Venerable Deepam, is this the most special place there is for a Buddhist? 477 00:35:26,680 --> 00:35:30,360 Yes, there is, this is the holiest place for all Buddhists. 478 00:35:30,360 --> 00:35:34,840 It is considered that every Buddhist should visit once in a lifetime. 479 00:35:52,280 --> 00:35:53,680 Hello. Hi. 480 00:35:53,680 --> 00:35:55,160 May I ask where you are visiting from? 481 00:35:55,160 --> 00:35:59,720 I'm from Singapore. What is the significance to you as a Buddhist of this place? 482 00:35:59,720 --> 00:36:02,560 This is considered the epicentre of Buddhism. 483 00:36:02,560 --> 00:36:06,000 It's where Lord Buddha achieved enlightenment. 484 00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:08,680 How would you describe enlightenment to me? 485 00:36:08,680 --> 00:36:13,680 It just means that you have awakened, gone beyond the material world. 486 00:36:13,840 --> 00:36:15,880 Have you been able to achieve that yourself? 487 00:36:15,880 --> 00:36:17,440 Of course not! 488 00:36:17,440 --> 00:36:19,520 So the average Buddhist doesn't attain it? 489 00:36:19,520 --> 00:36:23,680 We are all striving to reach that point. 490 00:36:23,680 --> 00:36:25,560 How long will you spend here? 491 00:36:25,560 --> 00:36:28,360 A month. You come every day to the temple? 492 00:36:28,360 --> 00:36:33,160 I do. I've actually made friends with the various wandering monks. 493 00:36:33,160 --> 00:36:35,640 In fact, we became friends on Facebook. 494 00:36:35,640 --> 00:36:40,120 When you go back to Singapore, what effect will it have had on you to come here? 495 00:36:40,120 --> 00:36:44,560 Well, I think I'll be a much nicer person than I was. 496 00:36:44,560 --> 00:36:48,200 So nice to talk to you. Thanks so much. Bye-bye. 497 00:37:07,960 --> 00:37:11,560 The next part of my journey will take me 200 miles, 498 00:37:11,560 --> 00:37:14,400 south-east from Bodh Gaya into West Bengal. 499 00:37:15,840 --> 00:37:21,520 I'll stop at the railway town of Chittaranjan before finishing in Kolkata, 500 00:37:21,680 --> 00:37:25,520 India's oldest port on the banks of the Hooghly River. 501 00:37:36,600 --> 00:37:41,200 Bradshaw's written in 1913 remarks that the Indian railway system is just 502 00:37:41,200 --> 00:37:46,280 under 32,000 miles in extent, growing by about 1,000 miles every year, 503 00:37:46,440 --> 00:37:51,680 390 million passengers and 71 million tonnes of goods. 504 00:37:51,840 --> 00:37:56,400 It represented the most enormous captive export market for British 505 00:37:56,400 --> 00:37:58,920 manufacturers of locomotives. 506 00:37:58,920 --> 00:38:02,520 Since independence, the railways have gone on modernising. 507 00:38:02,520 --> 00:38:07,560 I wonder how that great demand has been met since the tie with Britain was broken? 508 00:38:07,560 --> 00:38:07,640 I'm getting off at Chittaranjan to find out. 509 00:38:07,640 --> 00:38:10,560 I'm getting off at Chittaranjan to find out. 510 00:38:27,720 --> 00:38:32,760 First impressions, Chittaranjan has a much bigger station than I would have expected for somewhere 511 00:38:32,760 --> 00:38:34,200 I regard as pretty remote. 512 00:38:34,200 --> 00:38:38,840 It is one of those cities that exists only because of the railways. 513 00:38:45,200 --> 00:38:49,240 One of the largest locomotive works in India is situated here. 514 00:38:50,440 --> 00:38:56,400 I'm surprised to find it green and peaceful with fresh smelling air. 515 00:38:56,560 --> 00:39:00,760 Chittaranjan, like a number of railway locomotive works, 516 00:39:00,760 --> 00:39:03,120 decided to build its own village, 517 00:39:03,120 --> 00:39:05,880 well, town and very beautiful it is too. 518 00:39:05,880 --> 00:39:08,320 Set amongst woods with its own lakes, 519 00:39:08,320 --> 00:39:13,720 so the main works are over there in the distance and then all around here is the accommodation. 520 00:39:13,920 --> 00:39:17,920 People came from neighbouring Bangladesh and all over India to be employed 521 00:39:17,920 --> 00:39:21,080 here and then each of those probably has four members of the family, 522 00:39:21,080 --> 00:39:24,120 so it turns out to be a really sizeable community. 523 00:39:29,480 --> 00:39:35,400 The vast site covers 4,500 acres and includes schools, 524 00:39:35,560 --> 00:39:39,480 leisure facilities and even a children's train ride. 525 00:39:42,320 --> 00:39:47,240 The factory began production in 1950 on the day that India became a 526 00:39:47,240 --> 00:39:51,640 republic. And now employs a workforce of 11,000 people. 527 00:39:58,600 --> 00:40:00,960 This workshop is enormous. 528 00:40:00,960 --> 00:40:04,160 It is the largest at Chittaranjan. 529 00:40:04,160 --> 00:40:08,160 980 metres long. That is very nearly a kilometre. 530 00:40:08,160 --> 00:40:11,280 You could run a perfectly decent horse race in here. 531 00:40:18,360 --> 00:40:22,800 When imperial engineers developed India's rail network from the mid-19th 532 00:40:22,800 --> 00:40:26,680 century onwards, the locomotives had to be imported from Britain. 533 00:40:27,720 --> 00:40:31,440 Workshops were established in India to maintain them. 534 00:40:31,440 --> 00:40:36,440 But Indian initiatives to build engines at home were stifled 535 00:40:36,440 --> 00:40:39,760 so as to protect British industry. 536 00:40:39,760 --> 00:40:44,200 One of the things that India resented about the British Raj was our insistence 537 00:40:44,200 --> 00:40:47,720 on exporting goods from the United Kingdom to India, 538 00:40:47,720 --> 00:40:52,560 denying India the opportunity to develop its own industrial base. 539 00:40:52,560 --> 00:40:55,680 That was particularly true perhaps of railways. 540 00:40:55,680 --> 00:40:57,760 So on independence, 541 00:40:57,760 --> 00:41:01,120 India decided that it really needed to put that situation right. 542 00:41:01,120 --> 00:41:04,480 These works began in the 1950s, making steam engines, 543 00:41:04,480 --> 00:41:08,880 before moving to diesel and electric models in the 1960s. 544 00:41:08,880 --> 00:41:10,560 Hello. How are you? 545 00:41:12,160 --> 00:41:15,760 The mainstay of this factory for quite a long time has been 546 00:41:15,760 --> 00:41:20,240 6,000 horsepower locomotives and this is the starting point. 547 00:41:20,240 --> 00:41:23,840 This is 6,000 horsepower, yeah? This is a chassis. 548 00:41:23,840 --> 00:41:25,760 This is the chassis. 549 00:41:25,760 --> 00:41:29,120 This is where it all begins. Yes, yes. 550 00:41:30,760 --> 00:41:33,200 Which is what you've done over there already. 551 00:41:33,200 --> 00:41:35,120 Then the cab and the roof. 552 00:41:35,120 --> 00:41:38,080 The chassis doesn't look like much, really. 553 00:41:38,080 --> 00:41:43,160 But once you put the sides on and when you put the cab on, 554 00:41:43,160 --> 00:41:46,160 you begin to get something that looks like a loco. 555 00:41:48,080 --> 00:41:50,680 And this is the finished product. 556 00:41:50,680 --> 00:41:55,080 300 locomotives roll out of this factory every year. 557 00:41:55,080 --> 00:41:58,320 Mr VP Patak is the general manager. 558 00:41:58,320 --> 00:42:02,120 It is a matter of pride for us that our locomotives are hauling the 559 00:42:02,120 --> 00:42:06,360 fastest trains which are running in India and the heaviest freight 560 00:42:06,360 --> 00:42:07,360 traffic. 561 00:42:09,520 --> 00:42:13,640 They are producing their own goods here for their own market. 562 00:42:13,640 --> 00:42:19,160 This is part of modern India and has been a long-running theme in Indian 563 00:42:19,320 --> 00:42:24,960 politics. Mahatma Gandhi urged Indians to reject foreign textiles 564 00:42:25,080 --> 00:42:27,040 and live in homespun cloth. 565 00:42:27,040 --> 00:42:31,640 The present-day Prime Minister Mr Modi campaigns on the slogan, 566 00:42:31,640 --> 00:42:34,200 Make In India. 567 00:42:43,720 --> 00:42:45,320 As night falls, 568 00:42:45,320 --> 00:42:51,320 I'm embarking on the final leg of my journey which will take me around 120 miles to Kolkata. 569 00:42:52,920 --> 00:42:55,440 Known as Calcutta under colonial rule, 570 00:42:55,440 --> 00:42:59,480 it reverted to its original Bengali name in 2001. 571 00:43:00,720 --> 00:43:04,520 This is the late evening premium express service. 572 00:43:04,520 --> 00:43:07,680 It is air-conditioned, it's comfortable, of course. 573 00:43:07,680 --> 00:43:10,160 It's running reasonably on time. 574 00:43:10,160 --> 00:43:14,720 Hurray! And what's more, in my ticket price they include dinner. 575 00:43:14,720 --> 00:43:17,760 No great surprises, if you've been in India for awhile. 576 00:43:17,760 --> 00:43:22,040 Rice and daal and vegetable and bread and yoghurt. 577 00:43:22,040 --> 00:43:24,520 But, hey, it hits the spot. 578 00:43:28,280 --> 00:43:30,840 How do you like the food? 579 00:43:30,840 --> 00:43:33,040 I've been enjoying the food very much. 580 00:43:33,040 --> 00:43:37,800 I've been eating vegetarian while in India and there's masses of lovely flavours. 581 00:43:37,800 --> 00:43:42,800 India is all about flavours and colours and the spice level also varies along with that. 582 00:43:42,800 --> 00:43:45,120 And which part of India are you from? 583 00:43:45,120 --> 00:43:48,720 I'm a Bengali but currently I'm staying in Jharkand in Ranchi. 584 00:43:48,720 --> 00:43:50,880 I'm heading for Calcutta now. 585 00:43:50,880 --> 00:43:52,080 Kolkata. 586 00:43:52,080 --> 00:43:53,760 Are you not eating your food, sir? 587 00:43:53,760 --> 00:43:56,840 I had some evening snacks on the way, so I'm really full, 588 00:43:56,840 --> 00:44:01,240 but my wife she is having some dinner. Yes. 589 00:44:01,240 --> 00:44:04,400 As we're getting in quite late I thought I'd have dinner on the train. 590 00:44:04,400 --> 00:44:07,080 Thank you very much. Enjoy your journey. Bon appetit. 591 00:44:17,160 --> 00:44:17,240 Kolkata, capital of West Bengal. 592 00:44:17,240 --> 00:44:20,520 Kolkata, capital of West Bengal. 593 00:44:21,760 --> 00:44:24,480 And Howrah station is heaving. 594 00:44:29,960 --> 00:44:34,720 Designed in the middle of the 19th century remodelled at the beginning of the 20th, 595 00:44:34,720 --> 00:44:39,840 with its 23 platforms it is India's busiest station and only one of four 596 00:44:39,960 --> 00:44:42,560 main termini in Kolkata. 597 00:44:50,920 --> 00:44:54,240 Great Eastern Hotel, please. Thank you. 598 00:44:58,480 --> 00:45:02,880 Three things only are necessary to drive in India. 599 00:45:02,880 --> 00:45:06,840 A horn, good breaks and nerves of steel. 600 00:45:16,960 --> 00:45:17,080 Most taxi drivers in Kolkata, it seems, favour the brand-name Ambassador. 601 00:45:17,080 --> 00:45:23,120 Most taxi drivers in Kolkata, it seems, favour the brand-name Ambassador. 602 00:45:23,280 --> 00:45:27,920 But British people would recognise this as an old Morris Oxford. 603 00:45:27,920 --> 00:45:29,760 What a throwback. 604 00:45:37,440 --> 00:45:40,520 Kolkata is clearly a 24-hour city 605 00:45:40,520 --> 00:45:42,800 but I'm ready for bed. 606 00:45:42,800 --> 00:45:45,480 Hello. Good evening. 607 00:46:06,720 --> 00:46:11,120 The Great Eastern Hotel is the oldest existing hotel in India. 608 00:46:11,120 --> 00:46:14,080 Mentioned, of course, in my Bradshaw's guide. 609 00:46:14,080 --> 00:46:17,920 In corners like this it still has that colonial feel. 610 00:46:17,920 --> 00:46:23,880 By 1913 the newspapers carried snippets of revolutionary groups. 611 00:46:24,000 --> 00:46:26,360 Why pay that any mind? 612 00:46:26,360 --> 00:46:30,400 Better to focus on the creature comforts that reminded you of home. 613 00:46:30,400 --> 00:46:32,320 Like porridge and scrambled egg. 614 00:46:39,600 --> 00:46:43,160 Reminders of Kolkata's colonial past are everywhere. 615 00:46:48,040 --> 00:46:52,800 Ceded to the East India Company in the 17th century, the port boomed. 616 00:46:53,840 --> 00:46:57,760 And today it's the commercial hub of East India. 617 00:46:57,760 --> 00:47:00,520 And one of the country's fastest-growing cities. 618 00:47:02,240 --> 00:47:04,760 It has a population of four and a half million, 619 00:47:04,760 --> 00:47:08,480 and the streets are some of the most congested in India. 620 00:47:11,600 --> 00:47:14,480 I think the tram might be my best bet. 621 00:47:17,320 --> 00:47:22,600 It is almost 40 degrees today, with humidity climbing to over 70%. 622 00:47:22,720 --> 00:47:24,880 Thank goodness this has no windows. 623 00:47:24,880 --> 00:47:27,960 It also makes it perfect for sightseeing. 624 00:47:42,120 --> 00:47:46,280 Everywhere in India you see poverty and beggars. 625 00:47:46,280 --> 00:47:50,280 And the tram takes you from the city splendours to its slums. 626 00:48:06,120 --> 00:48:11,480 Kolkata was the imperial capital for almost 140 years until the British 627 00:48:11,640 --> 00:48:14,920 moved their seat of Government to Delhi in 1911. 628 00:48:16,040 --> 00:48:17,720 But having lost that honour, 629 00:48:17,720 --> 00:48:22,640 Kolkata achieved a different status according to acclaimed novelist and 630 00:48:22,640 --> 00:48:26,360 architectural heritage campaigner, Amit Choudhury. 631 00:48:26,360 --> 00:48:30,520 Tell me about Calcutta at the moment the city ceases to be the capital of 632 00:48:30,520 --> 00:48:35,120 India. Well, it continues to be the most interesting city in terms of all aspects of 633 00:48:35,120 --> 00:48:36,960 culture, including architecture. 634 00:48:36,960 --> 00:48:41,120 The houses are different from the colonial houses or the grand mansions of 635 00:48:41,120 --> 00:48:47,480 the North, a mix of Bengali and European features which are different in terms of design. 636 00:48:47,640 --> 00:48:51,120 The slatted windows, the red oxide stone floors, 637 00:48:51,120 --> 00:48:54,640 these open porches, a sense of space, open rooftops, 638 00:48:54,640 --> 00:48:57,080 ventilators on the sides of the houses. 639 00:48:57,080 --> 00:49:03,040 But no two houses are identical and this is a reminder of the fact that 640 00:49:03,240 --> 00:49:06,920 there was an energy and creative energy in the city in terms of buildings 641 00:49:06,920 --> 00:49:08,880 and its writing and music, 642 00:49:08,880 --> 00:49:13,840 which made it still creatively speaking the most important Indian city 643 00:49:13,840 --> 00:49:15,760 long after it had stopped being the capital. 644 00:49:23,600 --> 00:49:27,560 Kolkata's best-known creative spirit was the poet 645 00:49:27,560 --> 00:49:29,400 Rabindranath Tagore. 646 00:49:29,400 --> 00:49:32,880 The first non-European to win the Nobel Prize for literature, 647 00:49:32,880 --> 00:49:36,960 he was born in his splendid family mansion in 1861. 648 00:49:43,320 --> 00:49:48,120 Amit, I've heard Tagore described as the bard of Bengal and a polymath. 649 00:49:48,120 --> 00:49:49,400 How would you describe him? 650 00:49:49,400 --> 00:49:54,360 I describe him as an innovator, as an experimenter, great philosopher. 651 00:49:54,360 --> 00:49:56,680 He is not like the old poets. 652 00:49:56,680 --> 00:49:58,640 He's not a devotional poet. 653 00:49:58,640 --> 00:50:01,680 He is not writing about the gods and goddesses. 654 00:50:01,680 --> 00:50:06,120 He is a modern artist and a great craftsman of the Bengali language. 655 00:50:06,120 --> 00:50:08,800 What forms does his writing take? 656 00:50:08,800 --> 00:50:13,880 Poems, songs, plays, of course, novels. 657 00:50:13,880 --> 00:50:17,600 For those who can read him in Bengali, the hundreds and millions who can, 658 00:50:17,600 --> 00:50:19,800 what does Tagore mean to them? 659 00:50:19,800 --> 00:50:23,800 Tagore reaches and has reached a lot of people through his songs, 660 00:50:23,800 --> 00:50:26,040 which are often rendered quite sentimentally. 661 00:50:26,040 --> 00:50:31,040 But you contrast that with his own very irreverent and playful use of the past. 662 00:50:31,200 --> 00:50:35,280 He is using all kinds of material from Irish drinking songs to 663 00:50:35,280 --> 00:50:36,600 Indian classical forms. 664 00:50:36,600 --> 00:50:40,200 Indian classical music can be sung for hours. 665 00:50:40,200 --> 00:50:43,200 Tagore compresses songs into three minutes. 666 00:50:52,320 --> 00:50:57,160 Tagore travelled to Britain in 1912 to promote Gitanjali, 667 00:50:57,160 --> 00:51:01,000 an English translation of a collection of his poems. 668 00:51:01,000 --> 00:51:05,920 The Irish poet WB Yeats was so taken with them that he agreed to write an 669 00:51:05,920 --> 00:51:08,320 introduction and in 1913, 670 00:51:08,320 --> 00:51:12,440 Tagore was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. 671 00:51:12,440 --> 00:51:13,760 Then he becomes, I think, 672 00:51:13,760 --> 00:51:18,000 the first worldwide celebrity in the domain of literature. 673 00:51:18,000 --> 00:51:19,360 Everybody knows him. 674 00:51:19,360 --> 00:51:22,920 The Germans, the Japanese, the Chinese, the Russians, the English, 675 00:51:22,920 --> 00:51:27,880 of course, the Americans. Although not an active political campaigner, 676 00:51:27,880 --> 00:51:32,880 Tagore was fiercely anti-British and experimented with redefining what it 677 00:51:32,880 --> 00:51:35,160 meant to be Indian. 678 00:51:35,160 --> 00:51:39,560 He tried to distance himself from colonial rule by wearing clothes made 679 00:51:39,560 --> 00:51:42,080 from traditionally spun Indian fabric. 680 00:51:46,560 --> 00:51:49,200 And here on the streets of Kolkata, 681 00:51:49,200 --> 00:51:52,160 buying local soon became the battle cry. 682 00:51:54,240 --> 00:51:58,440 The cottage textile industry had been ruined by the mighty mills of 683 00:51:58,440 --> 00:52:01,840 Lancashire and by unfair trade practices. 684 00:52:01,840 --> 00:52:04,640 Here at the town hall in August 1905, 685 00:52:04,640 --> 00:52:10,960 a boycott of British cloth was announced and so was launched the Swadeshi movement, 686 00:52:11,080 --> 00:52:14,120 meaning reliance on one's own cloth. 687 00:52:14,120 --> 00:52:19,320 Foreign textiles were mounted into bonfires and with that the Swadeshi cause 688 00:52:19,480 --> 00:52:23,440 that would later be embraced by MK Gandhi caught fire. 689 00:52:25,120 --> 00:52:28,640 ARCHIVE: Gandhi works at a spinning wheel as he talks to his followers. 690 00:52:29,840 --> 00:52:32,640 He tells them that by making their own cloth, 691 00:52:32,640 --> 00:52:36,120 they will create work and an industry for themselves. 692 00:52:36,120 --> 00:52:42,040 But more important, they can boycott English textiles sold in India. 693 00:52:44,080 --> 00:52:47,600 Recently there has been a resurgence of the handloom, 694 00:52:47,600 --> 00:52:53,320 with demand from fashion designers for traditionally made fabrics such as handspun khadi. 695 00:52:56,280 --> 00:52:59,240 Dashan Shah runs the weavers studio, 696 00:52:59,240 --> 00:53:02,000 making handcrafted clothes and textiles. 697 00:53:08,720 --> 00:53:10,960 Hello, nice to meet you. Lovely to see you. 698 00:53:10,960 --> 00:53:12,840 I feel as if I've stepped back in time. 699 00:53:12,840 --> 00:53:17,520 Yes. Now, people here today are clearly working in the traditional way. 700 00:53:17,520 --> 00:53:22,120 Why? Our mission statement of our company when we started 23 years ago was 701 00:53:22,120 --> 00:53:26,240 to use as many hands as possible and keep the cottage industry going and 702 00:53:26,240 --> 00:53:29,360 the traditional techniques and our history and heritage, 703 00:53:29,360 --> 00:53:32,520 what has been there for the last 2,000 plus years. 704 00:53:32,520 --> 00:53:36,080 And these looms, would they be recognisable from decades ago? 705 00:53:36,080 --> 00:53:39,240 Yes. There is no machinery. We have not even added a motor. 706 00:53:39,240 --> 00:53:41,920 And who are the people who are working here? 707 00:53:41,920 --> 00:53:46,160 They are all master weavers who have come from the villages and who also have 708 00:53:46,160 --> 00:53:49,800 their own units, so they may be doing some bits of work on the side 709 00:53:49,800 --> 00:53:52,440 but they get the kind of respect and they get the kind of opportunity 710 00:53:52,440 --> 00:53:54,760 over here which they could reproduce in the villages. 711 00:53:54,760 --> 00:53:56,400 So you are transferring skills? 712 00:53:56,400 --> 00:53:58,120 Yes. To the villages. 713 00:53:58,120 --> 00:53:59,800 Now, from your perspective, 714 00:53:59,800 --> 00:54:04,880 why, in 1905, is there this boycott in Calcutta of British cloth? 715 00:54:04,880 --> 00:54:09,000 This cloth that came into India were much cheaper and so they were 716 00:54:09,000 --> 00:54:12,640 flooding the market and making us lose the handloom industry. 717 00:54:12,640 --> 00:54:16,320 So our handloom goods were being put on the side and the British goods 718 00:54:16,320 --> 00:54:19,360 were taking over. Was that leading to unemployment? 719 00:54:19,360 --> 00:54:24,240 It led to a lot of unemployment as well as no longer feeling the pride of wearing the cloth 720 00:54:24,240 --> 00:54:27,440 that you weave, which was a tradition in India, always. 721 00:54:27,440 --> 00:54:31,840 Now, when people start to make bonfires of foreign clothes and foreign cloth, 722 00:54:31,840 --> 00:54:35,360 presumably there is a lot of self-sacrifice involved in that. 723 00:54:35,360 --> 00:54:36,680 They had paid for those things. 724 00:54:36,680 --> 00:54:41,120 Yes, but then what Gandhi and the other political leaders ignited within 725 00:54:41,120 --> 00:54:45,040 them is this pride for ourselves and the pride for freedom. 726 00:54:45,040 --> 00:54:47,640 Realising they are being suppressed at every level. 727 00:54:47,640 --> 00:54:51,880 So the freedom movement is what ignited all the people to come out on the streets, 728 00:54:51,880 --> 00:54:53,840 to give up their foreign clothes, 729 00:54:53,840 --> 00:54:58,840 to burn it and to say that here we will start a new beginning and we will go back 730 00:54:58,960 --> 00:55:00,720 to making our own cloth. 731 00:55:00,720 --> 00:55:06,760 Now, MK Gandhi famously goes and starts a village life and sits with his spinning wheel. 732 00:55:06,880 --> 00:55:08,360 Is it one like this? 733 00:55:08,360 --> 00:55:11,080 Yes, very similar to this, but a little bit smaller. 734 00:55:11,080 --> 00:55:15,320 He also had a machine that you can put into a small wooden box and take it around with him. 735 00:55:15,320 --> 00:55:17,800 Whenever he travelled he would carry it. 736 00:55:17,800 --> 00:55:22,840 Weaving for him every morning was his way of saying that I believe in what I'm propagating. 737 00:55:24,000 --> 00:55:28,360 Surrounded by men spinning thread, I'm intrigued to have a go myself. 738 00:55:28,360 --> 00:55:32,200 I think I'm going to kneel rather than attempt cross-legged. 739 00:55:32,200 --> 00:55:34,840 Yes. Now, finger and thumb on the thread like that. 740 00:55:34,840 --> 00:55:36,480 Yes. Control the movement. 741 00:55:36,480 --> 00:55:39,280 Moving it from one end to the other, yes? 742 00:55:39,280 --> 00:55:43,400 Yes. There should be an equal distribution of the yarn. 743 00:55:43,400 --> 00:55:47,560 Moving it backwards and forwards across the bobbin so that it forms a 744 00:55:47,560 --> 00:55:49,680 little bump in the middle. 745 00:55:54,200 --> 00:55:57,080 Tell me whether the master weaver is looking horrified. 746 00:55:57,080 --> 00:55:59,760 You are doing very well. Are you finding that simple? 747 00:55:59,760 --> 00:56:03,440 I'm finding it simple and quite restful, actually. 748 00:56:03,440 --> 00:56:07,800 Yes. It does require some concentration. Yes. 749 00:56:07,800 --> 00:56:11,280 Gandhi urged Indians to make their own cloth. 750 00:56:11,280 --> 00:56:13,720 For a politician, it was a good spin. 751 00:56:17,840 --> 00:56:23,680 Handcrafted traditional fabrics are now a favourite with India's fashion houses. 752 00:56:23,840 --> 00:56:26,720 These models are sporting some of this season's looks. 753 00:56:34,400 --> 00:56:36,400 Ladies, hello. 754 00:56:36,400 --> 00:56:40,240 Today is very, very humid and very, very hot. 755 00:56:40,240 --> 00:56:42,880 How does it feel to be wearing these kinds of garments? 756 00:56:42,880 --> 00:56:46,040 These are very comfortable to wear. And it's very skin friendly. 757 00:56:46,040 --> 00:56:48,480 That's very important in this weather. 758 00:56:48,480 --> 00:56:51,920 Indian weather is so humid and so hot and these are so thin and they are 759 00:56:51,920 --> 00:56:55,120 so nice so you don't really feel that much of heat with this. 760 00:56:55,120 --> 00:56:58,600 And does it make you feel proud? Does it matter to you to wear something that's Indian? 761 00:56:58,600 --> 00:57:03,240 Nowadays everyone is more prone towards the international fashion brands 762 00:57:03,240 --> 00:57:08,280 but I think wearing khadi in this form is not only giving us the Indian background that we have, 763 00:57:08,440 --> 00:57:12,280 it is also promoting the modern wear so it is a combination of both. 764 00:57:12,280 --> 00:57:15,280 I am feeling patriotic and good wearing this. 765 00:57:20,960 --> 00:57:23,920 Here in the Maidan City Centre Park, 766 00:57:23,920 --> 00:57:29,400 the Victoria Memorial was built to commemorate an empress and an Empire 767 00:57:29,520 --> 00:57:30,520 at its height. 768 00:57:34,160 --> 00:57:37,760 When the British government pushed aside the East India Company, 769 00:57:37,760 --> 00:57:40,800 it may have governed India efficiently, 770 00:57:40,800 --> 00:57:44,520 trained up an able class of Indian civil servant, 771 00:57:44,520 --> 00:57:47,680 built railways that tied the country together. 772 00:57:47,680 --> 00:57:50,640 But it ruled without consideration, 773 00:57:50,640 --> 00:57:53,760 not understanding Indian religions, 774 00:57:53,760 --> 00:57:58,160 trampling on Indian traditions and Indian pride. 775 00:57:58,160 --> 00:58:02,960 Tagore once wrote to an imaginary reader in a future age, 776 00:58:02,960 --> 00:58:07,560 "May you feel the living joy that sang one spring morning, 777 00:58:07,560 --> 00:58:11,960 "sending its glad voice across 100 years." 778 00:58:11,960 --> 00:58:16,360 Within a century the insensitivities that caused the Indian Rebellion of 779 00:58:16,360 --> 00:58:21,440 1857 had led the sun to set upon the British Raj.